Genetic parameters of lamb leather and wool traits in Lacaune dairy sheep

Lacaune lamb skins are well known for their high quality and are widely used in the leather industry and luxury ready-to-wear fashion. However, in France, the quality of this leather has declined over recent decades, primarily due to two major defects: pinhole and straw-like bushiness. The study aimed to estimate the genetic parameters of these defects and wool traits, and to assess the genetic correlations between these traits and traits currently under selection in the Lacaune breed. To investigate the genetic determinism of these defects, around 1 400 Lacaune lambs, from 72 rams, were genotyped using the Illumina OvineSNP50 BeadChip and were phenotyped for both leather defects and four wool traits. Environmental factors affecting each studied trait were determined using ANOVA. Then, heritabilities and genetic correlations were estimated by fitting an animal linear model using an average information REML algorithm. The pinhole defect showed a high heritability (0.59 ± 0.07) and was highly genetically correlated to the wool predicted core bulk (r_g = 0.54 ± 0.09). The straw-like bushiness defect had a lower heritability (0.26 ± 0.07) and was genetically correlated to the mean fibre diameter (r_g = 0.48 ± 0.14). Importantly, neither of the leather defects was highly genetically correlated with the traits currently included in the breed's total merit index. Therefore, improving leather quality through genetic selection appears feasible and could be pursued alongside the existing breeding objectives for the Lacaune breed in France, and could also be considered in other countries where the Lacaune genetics are exported.